Carriage-top.



No. '763,985- PATENTED JULY 5, 1904. W. H. KELLY. CARRIAGE TOP.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 30, 1903.

N0 MODEL.

SH van for,

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.155. ww W X Y v 0 UNITED STATES Patented July 5, 1904.

PATENT OEEicE.

CARRIAGE-TOP.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 763,985, datedJuly 5,1904.

Application tiled September 30, 1903. Serial No. 175,192. (No model.)

To (all zul/1,0m, it 771/607/ concern:

Be it known that I, VILLIAM H. KELLY, a citizen of the United States,residing at Brownsburg, in the county of Rockbridge and State ofVirginia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inCarriage-Tops; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full,clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enableothers skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use thesame.

My invention relates to carriage-tops for buggies, phaetons, surreys,and other vehicles; and it has reference more particularly to thosekinds of vehicle-tops which are provided with rolling curtains at thesides and back, a modern example of which is illustrated and describedin the drawings and specification accompanying my United States LettersPatent No. 735,270, dated August 4, 1903. In the constructionillustrated in said patent the topframe, which supports the covering androllers, has front and rear bows connected at each side of the top byupper and lower side strips, to the lower ones of which thesupportingstandards for the top are attached, while the intermediate bowor bows are connected to the upper side strips. The side-curtain rollersare mounted or supported between the front and rear bows, being housedwithin the sides of the top-covering, and the curtains pass between theside strips, and when drawn they hang over and cover the standards andbraces which support the top. An innerlining within or under thetop-covering attached to the front and rear bows and the lower sidestrips conceals the rollers and their mountings or brackets.

My present invention is an improvement over the vehicle-top shown in myaforesaid patent, and its principal objects are t0 provide a neaterconstruction and a more compact arrangement of the curtain-rollerswithin the top-frame, to render the rollers readily accessible for thepurpose of mounting them in place or removing them, as well as forconveniently drawing down the curtains in case they suddenly y up byaccident, to provide for readily taking out or replacing the side framesof the top, with the rollers mounted therein, and for folding thetop-frame together for shipment or storage, and to irnprove theconstruction of the top in various particulars.

With the above objects in view the invention will first be describedwith reference to the accompanying drawings, which are to be taken as apart of this specification, and its distinguishing features will then berecited in the annexed claims.

For the purpose of explanation the invention is herein representedembodied in a buggy-'top similar to that illustrated in the vdrawlngs ofmy aforesaid patent, though it will be understood that the invention iscapable of embodiment in different forms and is applicable tothe tops ofother kinds of vchicles.

In said drawings, Figure l is aside view of the buggy-top, the 'samebeing represented mounted on a buggy-seat, aportion of the topcoverbeing broken away and the side curtain being partly drawn. Fig. 2 is anenlarged detail view of one of the side frames with the curtain-rollermounted therein, an intermediate part being broken away. Fig. 3 is anenlarged partial vertical cross-section on line 3 3 of Fig. l looking'in the direction of the arrow, showing the rear right-hand corner of thetop or the corner at the left when looking backward. Fig. l is afragmentary vertical section on linei 4 of Fig. 3 looking in thedirection of the arrow, showing the same corner from the inner side.Fig. 5 is a detail vertical crosssection through one of the sides of thetop near the middle.

The letter A denotes the buggy-seat; B, the seat-back; C, thetop-covering, and D the usual vertical side strips depending from therear end of the top. The top is shown supported by suitable posts orstandards-in this instance three at each side, E F (ir-having theirupper ends spread apart and attached to the top-frame and their lowerends brought together and pivoted to suitablebrackets, as H, at thesides of the buggy-seat in thc'usual way.

The letter J denotes-the diagonal jointed armspor braces which hold upthe buggy-top and which when folded or doubled permit the top to beswung backward and down, said braces having their upper front endspivoted to the sides of the top-frame, as hereinafter explained, andtheir lower rear ends pivoted to suitable brackets, as K. Studs L, asshown, are secured to the back part of the seat to support the rearstandards G when the top is thrown back.

The top-frame, over which the cover U is fitted, comprises principally afront bow M, rear bow N, and an intermediate or middle bow O,corresponding to the supportingstandards and rigid therewith. Said bowsmay be formed integrally with said standards, or they may have theirends fitted and made fast in sockets in the upper ends of the latter, asrepresented in Fig. l. The middle bow has its end portions at the sidesof the top separate from its main curved or bowed portion and joinedthereto by curved braces or semicircular strips or plates P, fittingaround the rollers of the side curtains T, which rollers are arrangedbetween side strips R and S, connecting the front and rear bows, beingthus neatly and compactly incorporated in the sides of the top. Theseside strips may be joined to the front and rear bows by any suitablemeans. ln this instance fiat double angle irons or braces U and Vareshown at the op* posite ends of the side portions of the frame attachedto the strips and screwed to the bows, thus forming secure jointsbetween these three parts. The upper side strips are shown attached tothe middle bow by inverted-T- shaped irons Q, which are provided withpins to which the upper ends of the prop-braces J are joined. The lowerside strips are shown con nected to the middle bow by screws (j, (shownin dotted lines in Figs. l and 5,) inserted vertically through the saidstrips down into the upper ends of the bow end portions or standards.Said angle-ir0ns U and V are also shown formed with the brackets whichsupport the spindles of the side-curtain rollers. The rollers, however,may be mounted between the side strips by any suitable means. Theirbrackets may be supported on the lower strips or depend from the upperstrips or project from the front and rear bow or end portions thereof;but the construction illustrated is preferred, for it will be observedthat the side strips R and S, with the double angle-irons U and V,constitute rectangular frames for the side-curtain rollers, which may bereadily removed, with the rollers therein, by unfastening the screwswhich secure said angle-irons to the front and rear bows, unfasteningthe screws which hold the irons Q to the middle bow, and unscrewing thescrews q. Vhen the side frames, with their rollers, are thus removed,the standards and bows of the topframe may be brought together, and thetop may thus be folded so as to occupy less than half its usual space,which is a great advantage both to the manufacturer and retailer.

The top-cover C is of course fastened to the bows and upper side strips,the lower side edges thereof hanging down slightly below the lower sidestrips. The portions of the top-cover which extend down over the sidesmay be formed with eyes or apertures to en* gage studs or knobs on theends of the bows, so that the sides of the top-cover may be unbuttonedand lifted up for access to the rollers or for detaching theroller-frames. An inner lining Z is secured to the under side of thetop-frame in such manner as to conceal the rollers, with theirmountings, and produce a smooth neat appearance. This lining may beattached to the under surfaces of the bows, and its opposite sideportions may be attached to the upper side strips R and brought incurves around the rollers and fastened to the lower side strips S,suitable linishingstrips s being arranged over the lower edges of saidlining', if desired. At the back corners of the top semicircular blocksmay be secured to the inner sides of the rear bows, around which thelining Z is fitted, corresponding to the central curved braces or stripsQ. No such blocks are needed at the front in the constructionillustrated, for the side curtains T are shown having their front edgesupwardly forwardly inclined to correspond to the general shape of thebuggy-top side, and hence when said curtains are rolled their frontportionsl do not lie any considerable amount within the top, so thelining Z may be drawn taut over the upper and lower side bows atthefront, thus producing a very neat appearance and practically obviatingany attention to the rollers. The side rollers arc thus hidden fromview, while at the same time they are easily accessible, either for thepurposes of mounting them in place and removing them or to get at thecurtains to draw them down in case they suddenly fly up and roll all theway. The arrangement is also exceedingly simple and compact, the rollersbeing incorporated in the sides of the top-frame. The said side portionsof the frame are preferably substantially fiat, leaving the upper andlower side strips or the roller-frames in vertical or substantiallyvertical planes, and the rollers are preferably so arranged that thecurtains when drawn will hang down closely over the lower side stripsand the supporting-standards. In some instances, however, theconstruction and arrangement may be such that the side curtains may hangon the inner sides of the standards. The Ycurtains are shown providedwith suitable eyes or sockets for fastening to studs on the standardsand studs on the rear vertical strips D.

As in my prior patented carriage-top, so also in the presentconstruction, the roller of the back curtain WV is shown mounted beneaththe rear bow N and in this instance between said bow and a back strip X,located under or within and having' its ends secured to the bow \l. Theback-curtain roller is thus also incorporated in the back plane of theTOO TIO

frame, as the side-curtain rollers are arranged in the side planes ofthe frame, and said back curtain when drawn hangs over the bow X andunder the rear valance or horizontal strip Y of the top-cover. Alining-strip z2 is arranged over said back roller, being fastened to thebow N under the edge of the lining Z, drawn around the roller oversuitable curved blocks e3, and fastened under the strip X.

Vhile I preferably dispense with intermediate bows arranged between thebow O and bows M and N, nevertheless such intermediate bows may beemployed, if desired, their lower ends being joined to the upper sidestrips R, as in my prior patented construction, or joined to othersupporting-standards, as the middle bow of the present construction. Theinvention is also susceptible of various modifications in details ofconstruction and arrangement without departing from its scope.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is-

l. In acarriagetop,abowed top-frame having a suitable cover thereon andan inner lining, and side curtains having their rollers concealedbetween said cover and lining and mounted in said frame and incorporatedin the sides thereof.

2. In acarriage-top, atop-frame comprising front and rear bows and upperand lower side strips connecting the same at each side, and side-curtainrollers mounted between the said upper and lower side strips.

3. In a carriage-top, a top-frame comprising front and rear bows andupper and lower side strips connecting the same, side-curtain rollersmounted between the said upper and lower side strips, and a back-curtainroller mounted beneath and within the rear bow.

4. In a carriage-top, a top-frame comprising front and rear bows, upperand lower side strips connecting the same, supporting-standards for saidtop-frame, an intermediate bow or bows connected to the upper sidestrips, a top covering for said frame fastened to the bows and upperside strips and depending so as to cover the lower side strips, an innerlining on the under side of said frame, and side curtains having theirrollers mounted between said upper and lower side strips, said curtainshanging over the lower strip and outside the supporting-standards.

. In a carriage-top, a top-frame comprising front and rear bows, upperand lower side strips connecting the same, standards or bowarms joinedtothe ends of said bows, an intermediate bow connected to the upper sidestrips, and intermediate standards or bow-arms connected to anddepending from the lower side strips as continuations of the ends ofsaid intermediate bow, curved braces or strips joining the ends of saidintermediate bow and said standards or bow-arms, the spaces between theupper and lower side strips being designed for receiving side-curtainrollers.

6. In a carriage-top, a top-frame consisting of suitable bows, andseparable side frames connecting said bows and adapted for holdingcurtain-rollers therein.

7. In a carriage-top, a top-frame having front and rear bows, and sideframes detachably connected to said bows and having provision formounting curtain-rollers therein.

8. In a carriage-top, a top-frame having front and rear bows and anintermediate bow,-

and side frames detachably connected to said bows and having provisionfor mounting curtain-rollers therein, said intermediate bowbeing curvedor bowed around the inner sides of the rollers.

9. In a carriage-top, a top-frame having front and rear bows, sideframes detachably connected to said bows and having provision formounting curtain-rollers therein, an interf mediate bow having itsdepending end portions separate from its main bowed portion and joinedthereto by curved braces or strips spanning the curtain-rollersor thespaces of said side frames, and detachable fastenings between said sideframes and the main bowed portion and depending end portions of saidintermediate bow.

l0. In a carriage-top, a top-frame having suitable bows, `and separableroller-supporting frames detachably connected to said bows j at oppositesides of the top, and a top-cover having its side portions buttoned overthe end of said bows.

11. The herein-described roller-supporting IOO frame consisting of upperand lower side strips, angle-irons joining' the ends of said strips andadapted for attachment to the front A and rear bows of a carriage-top,and brackets for supporting the spindles of a curtain-roller mounted in.said frame.

In testimony whereof I aiiiX nay-signature in.

IVitnesses:

R. C. WALKER, E. L. MOORE.

